The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan to produce President Bola Tinubu’s nomination documents for the 1999 Lagos governorship and 2023 presidential elections in Omoyele Sowore’s criminal trial.
The court directed Amupitan to produce the documents and testify in the trial of Sowore, publisher of Sahara Reporters, who is being prosecuted by the Department of State Services (DSS) over his social media posts about Tinubu.
The subpoena, issued in charge number FHC/CR/484/2025, specifically requested Tinubu’s INEC Form CF001, including the affidavit relating to lost certificates, which he submitted as a candidate in the 1999 Lagos governorship election.
It also requested the president’s Form CF001 submitted to INEC for the 2023 presidential election.
The document, titled “Subpoena Duces Tecum”, was addressed to Amupitan and signed by the presiding judge, Mohammed Umar.
The development followed the court’s decision on Monday to grant the defence’s request to subpoena the INEC chairman and Joe Igbokwe, a former publicity secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos, as witnesses.
At the proceedings on Monday, Ruben Adakole, counsel to Sowore, informed the court that the defence intended to call the two individuals as witnesses.
The judge granted the request and directed that subpoenas be issued to them.
In another ruling, the court dismissed Sowore’s application seeking to compel Akinlolu Kehinde, lead counsel to the DSS, to testify as a defence witness.
The judge set aside the subpoena earlier issued to Kehinde, holding that lawyers owe their clients a duty of confidentiality and cannot ordinarily be compelled to disclose communications relating to legal representation.
He said a legal practitioner could only be compelled to testify in limited circumstances, particularly where the evidence sought concerns an uncontested matter or would not prejudice the client’s interests.
He also agreed with the prosecution that the application against Kehinde was intended to delay the trial and had been brought in bad faith.
The court adjourned the case until November 11 for the appearance of the subpoenaed defence witnesses.
Sowore is being prosecuted by the DSS over social media posts in which he allegedly described President Bola Tinubu as a “criminal”.
